Zhai Sheng turned serious, clasped his hands and placed them on his knees . He asked Qiao Nan in a serious manner, “Is there anything strange with me reading in my own house?”
“No, absolutely no!” Qiao Nan stiffened her spine and stood straight like a soldier at attention, shaking her head continuously . She who was not a member of Zhai family could be allowed entrance to the storeroom, Brother Zhai had the right to be there .
But, was there something strange?
Qiao Nan was in awe of Zhai Sheng . Gone was the calm and alert Qiao Nan, instead she could not think properly and was slow in reacting .
“Since there isn't any problem, come over here to read . ” Zhai Sheng slightly pushed at the chair beside him and motioned for Qiao Nan to take a seat .
Under Zhai Sheng's gaze, Qiao Nan was a bundle of nerves . Her body stiffened and she walked awkwardly over to the chair .
When Qiao Nan finally came to her senses and realized that she had made a fool of herself in front of Prince Charming, her face blushed red as an apple .
Qiao Nan stole a quick glance at Zhai Sheng . She heaved a sigh of relief when she noticed that he had gone back to reading his books . She quickly regained her composure and sat down at the speed of light, lest she make a fool of herself again .
But she had only sat down for a while before she realized that there were more awkward moments to come .
Her chair and Zhai Sheng's chair were placed side by side . Though it was winter now and Qiao Nan was bundled up in clothes, she could sense Zhai Sheng right beside her and felt the warmth radiating from his thigh . She felt uneasy .
Qiao Nan stole a glance at Brother Zhai . He looked cold and aloof yet his body temperature was so high . His wife would not have to worry that the warm water bag was not warm enough for the winter, he himself was a natural human warm water bag .
That aside, Qiao Nan still felt uncomfortable .
In her previous life, even though Qiao Nan was no longer young, till the day she died she was still a maiden . She did not have much experience in getting along with the opposite gender, let alone being so close to them .
Even with her first love Chen Jun, they only held hands . But Qiao Nan felt embarrassed to be seen holding hands by others, so in the end she shook off his hands .
The warmth radiating from Zhai Sheng gave Qiao Nan the false impression that they were sitting thigh to thigh . She felt uncomfortable, and awkward, and could not wait to get out of the room .
“If you want to read then sit properly, do you have needles on your bottom? Stop fidgeting . ” Zhai Sheng said in a slightly cold and stern tone . Qiao Nan paled at his words, she straightened her back and flipped open a book . With the pen in hand, she started to do her sums, not daring to move half an inch .
She put her concentration into her studies and eventually forgot about the awkwardness .
As a result she did not catch the glint in Zhai Sheng's eyes, nor the upward lift of the corners of his mouth . Zhai Sheng glanced at Qiao Nan's knees that had touched his . He could not help but feel comfortable in this position, hence he did not move his feet but remained in that position .
When Qiao Nan went back to Qiao family residence, Zhai Sheng also left the storeroom . He took his book and went back to the main building of his house, pouring himself a cup of tea .
Zhai Hua who just came out of her bath dripping wet saw her brother and said, “I have turned into a mud man in this current mission . I couldn't imagine the clumps of mud that I just scraped off myself . ”
It was just a bath, but Zhai Hua felt as if she was alive again .
“As a soldier, if you are not mentally prepared and readied, you had better tell Dad that you want to discharge from the army . ”
“Come on, I am not discharging from the army . it was just a simple remark, can't I complain for a bit?” Zhai Sheng rolled his eyes . Children of the Zhai family were born to lead a soldier's life, though she was a lady, the love for army life was in her blood, she could never change her personality in this life . “By the way Zhai Sheng, where have you been just now? You weren't at home when I came back?”
She was still wondering where Zhai Sheng was since he came home earlier than her . He was not someone who liked to spend his time outside .
“Nothing much, I was doing some reading in a quiet place . ”
“A quiet place? Is there a noisy place in our house?” Zhai Hua rolled her eyes . “You have emptied out your study room and moved everything to the storeroom, where else can you go to do some reading? Besides, I have already said that I am seldom at home, if you are willing, you can use my study room . ” Zhai Hua gave Zhai Sheng a generous pat on the shoulder . “No matter what, I am your elder sister . ”
Zhai Sheng shot Zhai Hua a cold stare . “You can keep your study room to yourself, I don't want to spot things that I should not see in your study room . I would be in a difficult position in front of Mom and Dad . You do not have to worry about me, I know what to do . ”
“Oh, what do you mean? Where have you been doing your reading? Care to tell me?” Zhai Hua raised her voice at Zhai Sheng who was leaving . “I have been to your study room, you are not there . You young brat!”
Zhai Hua was infuriated . Despite all her prying, Zhai Sheng refused to tell her .
Zhai Hua felt that Zhai Sheng had a big part to play for her bad temper as well as her impatient and tomboyish personality . If not for a spoilt brat brother like Zhai Sheng, she would not have turned out like this .
Back at his room, Zhai Sheng took off his clothes, getting ready for a hot bath .
He could not give an answer to Zhai Hua's questions as he was clueless as well . Without him realizing, he had taken his book and sat down in the storeroom . This was not the first time that he had done this .
Since Zhai Sheng liked going to the storeroom, he did not bother to find out the reason . He just followed his heart .
“Nan Nan, what's wrong with you?” Today was Qiao Dongliang's last day of work in the year . When he reached home he noticed that Qiao Nan seemed to be limping on her way back home . “Have you sprained your leg? Is it serious? Let me take a look . I will boil some hot water for you . Don't worry about the hot water, have a soak, after which I will rub your feet with some medicine . I promise you will be able to run in no time . ”
Qiao Dongliang knelt down, thinking to take off Qiao Nan's shoes to take a closer look at her feet . But Qiao Nan shifted to one side .
Qiao Nan was not used to be in such close proximity to Zhai Sheng . She felt uneasy to be this close to her biological father as well . “Dad, don't worry, it may be that I was too engrossed in doing my sums that I remained in the same position without moving my legs . It's only numbness in the leg . I will be fine when the numbness subsides . ”
Qiao Nan's words was laced with truths and lies . She did not forget to move her legs, in fact, she was frightened out of her wits, she was so nervous that she stayed in that same position all along .
Chapter end
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